Certificate issue stalls collection of overdue fees from Whalers

John Pirro

Updated 10:48 pm, Thursday, May 29, 2014

DANBURY -- The city will defer collection of about $100,000 it claims is owed by the Danbury Whalers until building officials resolve questions about the certificate of occupancy for the Danbury Ice Arena, where the team plays.

"We are trying to settle that issue and nail it down before we proceed on any aggressive collection measures," Assistant Corporation Counsel Les Pinter said.

Pinter said the company that collects the city's delinquent payments has been notified about the debt so it can proceed with collection efforts after the certificate question has been addressed.

City Building Official David Newland is charged with deciding whether the sprinkler system is adequate, the key point at issue with the certificate of occupancy. He said Wednesday he has been in contact with representatives of Eagle Ice, the company that owns the arena, several times over the past month.

"They are in the process of hiring a fire suppression contractor to upgrade the fire sprinkler system to meet the needs of the arena," Newland said. "I anticipate some closure soon."

Members of the City Council voted unanimously earlier this year to find the Danbury Whalers in default of the hockey team's debt to the city and to do "all things necessary" to collect the debt, which stems from police and fire protection for home games over the past several seasons.

Team officials countered in February with a settlement offer of $13,000, a figure some city officials said was "a hard number to swallow."

Herm Sorcher, the Whalers managing general partner, said last week he couldn't comment on the dispute.

The issue became more complicated when it was revealed that the temporary certificate of occupancy issued for the arena in 2004 had expired, and questions were raised about whether the existing fire sprinkler system was big enough.

The temporary certificate was issued in 2004 after an additional 1,400 seats were installed in the arena when the Danbury Trashers hockey team played its home games there. It expired a year later .

Since then, however, four professional hockey teams have played out seasons in the building, as well as college and high school hockey teams.